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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24116563">No Second Best</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/stars28/pseuds/stars28'>stars28</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>GOT7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Friendship, Gen, Headaches &amp; Migraines, Hurt/Comfort</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 14:56:58</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,400</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24116563</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/stars28/pseuds/stars28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Mark knew that he just had to deal with the pain until they’d finished the day’s schedule at least. At the moment though, with the pressure in his forehead growing by the minute, that seemed like a very long way off.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>No Second Best</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So this is my first GOT7 fan fiction of 2020. With the whole pandemic thing going on, I can only go to one of my jobs, but that does give me more free time to plan and then (eventually) write fan fiction.</p><p>Hope you enjoy this!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>Night 1.</b>
</p><p><em>Shit. </em>Mark’s head hurt.</p><p>He could barely keep his eyes open to focus on where to put his feet. He was mostly relying on Youngjae and BamBam, who were hanging onto an arm each, to guide him in the right direction. He didn’t think he’d ever been this mentally tired. He’d been physically tired before - pre-debut training came to mind - and he could deal with that. Mentally though, today had wiped him out completely. Being the unofficial English translator for the group during interviews had really took its toll on his energy levels.</p><p>“Mark hyung?”</p><p>He blinked slowly, trying to wake himself up as much as possible whilst simultaneously hiding it from his members, and replied, “Yeah Yugyeom?”</p><p>“Are you going to come with us to the restaurant for dinner?”</p><p>“Uh…” Mark honestly didn’t want to, he felt like he’d fall asleep as soon as he sat down and he’d much rather to sleep in his hotel room. So he said, “I don’t think so. I think I’m just gonna go to my room and sleep, y’know?”</p><p>“Oh ok.” Yugyeom said, looking a little confused.</p><p>“I’d love to come but today has really worn me out,” Mark said, trying to placate the concern he could see on all his friends’ faces, “I’ll get some room service or something.”</p><p>“So long as you’re sure?” Jaebum said.</p><p>Mark mustered a small smile at the amount of concern they were showing and replied, “Yes. I’m sure. Now go for dinner.”</p><p>(-)</p><p>Mark had no idea how he managed to get back to his hotel room. Maybe the driver or his manager had helped him up the lift, he didn’t think he’d been fully conscious when they’d arrived back at the hotel.</p><p>He took a very quick shower, not bothering to dry his hair off, and took some painkillers, hoping that they would help his painful headache to lessen a bit. As he left the en-suite bathroom, he switched all the lights off and made his way back to the bed by using the faint lights coming through the curtains.</p><p>Mark sighed quietly as his head hit the pillow. Maybe tomorrow wouldn’t be so translation heavy. Or maybe someone else would take over for a bit.</p><p>He could only hope.</p><p>(-)</p><p>The restaurant was loud and chaotic, not helped by Jackson’s and BamBam’s loud remarks. Yugyeom thought that maybe this was why Mark declined coming for dinner with them. But it was still weird that he didn’t come with them.</p><p>“Hey Yugyeom?” Jaebum said, waiting until the leader had turned to face him, “Where did Mark go? You were the last one to see him.”</p><p>“I think he was tired Jaebum hyung. We did have a long day.” Yugyeom replied, as Jaebum placed a hand against Yugyeom’s back and gently pushed him towards the table with the rest of the group.</p><p>Yugyeom could only hope that Mark had managed to have some food after returning to his hotel room. He hoped that Mark hyung would be better the following day, knowing that they had an equally packed day of interviews the next day.</p><hr/><p>
  <b>Night 2.</b>
</p><p>Mark wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep the pretence up. It wasn’t even midday yet and already he could feel the headache beginning to form behind his eyes and in his forehead. But he couldn’t take anything for it because then he would worry the other members, and that with last thing he wanted to do. He knew that they were all stressed - especially Jaebum - about being in America and having to communicate in a language which was as familiar or as natural to them as Korean. Even Jackson and BamBam had difficulty occasionally.</p><p>Mark knew that he just had to deal with the pain until they’d finished the day’s schedule at least. At the moment though, with the pressure in his forehead growing by the minute, that seemed like a very long way off.</p><p>(-)</p><p>He could only feel the pain in his head. That was all he was truly aware of. Mark couldn’t follow the conversation that the three youngest were having directly next to him, nor could he properly pay attention to what Jackson, Jaebum and Jinyoung were saying at the other side of him. It just seemed like so much effort.</p><p>“Mark?”</p><p>He blinked sluggishly, trying to get his brain to work, “Y-yeah?”</p><p>It was Yugyeom.</p><p>“Yeah Yugyeom?” Mark said, attempting to keep his brain focused on the maknae.</p><p>“Are you ok?” Yugyeom tilted his head to one side, a concerned look on his face.</p><p>Mark put on a very forced smile, which hopefully didn’t show the pain, and replied, “I’m fine Yugyeom, just a bit tired.”</p><p>“Aren’t we all?”</p><p>“True.”</p><p>“You coming with us to the restaurant?”</p><p>Mark let out a short laugh and responded, “No, I’m not. I’m just gonna go to sleep. I’m that tired.”</p><p>“Oh ok.” Yugyeom said, sounding disappointed.</p><p>Mark smiled at his youngest maknae, thinking that he was sweet, “Tomorrow ok? I promise.”</p><p>(-)</p><p>“Where’s Mark hyung?” Youngjae asked.</p><p>Jaebum carefully scanned the rest of the members walking in front of him, certain that he’d seen Mark earlier, but not being able to see him at that exact moment.</p><p>Yugyeom perked up, saying, “He said he was really tired and that he was going back to his hotel room.”</p><p>“Again?” Jaebum replied, frowning, “He did the same thing yesterday night, right?”</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>“Do you think there’s something more serious wrong with Mark?” Jaebum asked quietly, glancing forward at everyone else.</p><p>“I don’t know.” Yugyeom admitted, clearly thinking hard, “But this wouldn’t be the first time that Mark hyung has hidden something from us in an attempt to ‘protect us’ from the worry or whatever.”</p><p>Jaebum hummed in thought, the last time Mark had hidden a sprained ankle from the whole group and had, as a result, made it even worse by using it daily for two weeks, and said, “Catch up with the others and get Jinyoung to come to me, without anyone else noticing ok?”</p><p>Yugyeom nodded.</p><p>(-)</p><p>“So, would you mind telling me why we’re missing out on food and instead are heading back to our hotel rooms?” Jinyoung asked, for the third time since they’d left the group. Jaebum had yet to give him an answer other than grunts as they’d walked.</p><p>“Why do I have the feeling that you’re not going to stop asking until I answer you?”</p><p>“Because you know that I won’t.” Jinyoung said, stepping to one side to let a woman out of the lift, “So are you going to tell me now?”</p><p>Jaebum groaned, entering the lift and pressing the correct floor number, “The reason is because Yugyeom has noticed that Mark hyung has been going straight to his room instead of joining us on whatever we’re doing after the day. He thinks that Mark is hiding something from us to, in Yugyeom’s words, ‘protect us’ from worrying.”</p><p>The lift started moving swiftly upwards. Jaebum leaned against the furthest wall.</p><p>“Oh, you mean like the time Mark sprained his ankle and didn’t tell us about it?”</p><p>“Exactly like that.” Jaebum sighed, tilting his head back to rest against the lift wall and watching as they rose higher, “I just hope it isn’t serious.”</p><p>The lift stopped at their floor and the pair got off, turning down the corridor towards their hotel rooms. Mark’s room was the third from the end.</p><p>Jinyoung stopped outside Mark’s room and looked at Jaebum.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“You knock first.” Jinyoung said.</p><p>Jaebum rolled his eyes in exasperation and raised his fist to knock against the wooden door.</p><p>“Mark hyung? Are you in there?” He said loudly, listening for any kind of noise from within the room.</p><p>There was no sign of him being in there, making an uneasy feeling settle firmly in the bit of Jaebum’s stomach.</p><p>“Maybe he’s asleep?” Jinyoung said, hopefully.</p><p>“It’s not that late though.” Jaebum replied, frowning, “We didn’t have that many interviews today, not compared to yesterday at least.”</p><p>“That’s true.”</p><p>They continued to knock for the next fifteen minutes, but heard no response. Jinyoung even got his phone out and began to ring Mark.</p><p>(-)</p><p>Mark wanted to cry. Oh wait. He touched his cheeks with a finger. He was. He just wanted to be able to sleep in his dark, <em>quiet</em> hotel room. He thought that it was a simple request, especially given his headache which he’d had all day. Why was Jinyoung ringing him? What could they possible want now?</p><p>If Jinyoung was the one ringing him, then Jaebum was undoubtedly the one knocking incessantly on his door. He just wished that they’d stop and leave him alone. He couldn’t even find the energy to reach over and turn his phone off. Instead he just watched through almost closed eyes as his phone repeatedly lit up.</p><p>Eventually, his eyes shut completely and Mark drifted off to much needed sleep.</p><hr/><p>
  <b>Night 3.</b>
</p><p>Mark knew that after yesterday, after hearing Jinyoung and Jaebum outside his room a mere hour after he’d left the group, there was no way that the members were going to let him escape to his hotel room.</p><p>Maybe he should just tell them about the migraines he’s been having ever since they came to America? But then again, everyone was having such a good time being in America, performing on American talkshows and doing interviews, despite the obvious language barrier. It wasn’t their fault that they weren’t bilingual. He couldn’t bring them down, it wasn’t his place.</p><p>“Hey Mark hyung?” Jaebum said, looking at him.</p><p>“Yes?”</p><p>“Can we talk later? After today’s interviews?”</p><p>He knew what would happen when they met up. But he kind of figured that it was time that he was honest with his members about what was happening to him.He didn’t think that he could keep the headaches under wraps for much longer anyway because they seemed to be getting worse by the day. Even now, he could feel the ache around his temples worsening.</p><p>“Sure, we can meet in my room if you want, after we’ve all showered?” Mark offered, not wanting to seem unapproachable about his issue. He also figured it’d be easier for him to go to sleep immediately if they had to leave his room, rather than him having to get up and move to another hotel room.</p><p>Jaebum laughed, “Yeah that’s fine. Definitely after we’ve all showered. I don’t want to have to be subjected to that smell any longer than I have to.”</p><p>(-)</p><p>Mark was just finished pulling a comfy t-shirt over his head when he heard the insistent knocking on his door. He guessed that it was his members, waiting for him to let them in.</p><p>He opened the door to find that it had been BamBam knocking on the door and laughed quietly.</p><p>“Why I am not surprise that it’s you BamBam?” He said, stepping to one side and allowing them all in. There was no point not letting them in when they would hopefully be able to help him with the daily headaches. Or at the very least, have a way to lessen the translation burden on him, which, he knew, was the root cause of his headaches.</p><p>Mark shut the door and watched silently as they made themselves comfortable across his hotel room. Youngjae, Yugyeom and Jackson had taken over the small seating area, which Jackson perched carefully on the table, whilst BamBam, Jinyoung and Jaebum had settled on his double bed. They’d left room for him at the end.</p><p>Every member was looking at him, clearly waiting for him to speak, but now that he had the attention of everybody, he found that he didn’t really know where to begin.</p><p>“Uh…” He said, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.</p><p>Yugyeom spoke up, “We’ve noticed that you’ve started disappearing straight after the interviews, looking tired.”</p><p>Mark supposed they needed to know, if only to stop the worry that was appearing on Youngjae’s face. But doing so would mean that they worried about him over the migraines. He didn’t want to worry them or distract them from having a good time in America. He’d been having a war with himself over whether to tell them or not since Jaebum mentioned wanting to talk to him this morning and he was tired of it.</p><p>“Mark hyung!” Jinyoung said seriously, his eyebrows pinching together “We know there’s something wrong and we can only help if you tell us what’s wrong.”</p><p>“I…well, I’ve been having headaches ever since we arrived in America.” He confessed, seeing the realisation appear on the members’ faces and thought that he should be more explicit with what was wrong with him, “I mean, since we arrived I’ve been the main translator for you all, and it’s this constant switching from English to Korean and back again that’s causing my headaches.”</p><p>“Really?” Jackson said, “But BamBam and I can speak English, have we not been doing our fair share?”</p><p>“Not - not really.” Mark replied, looking down at his bare feet, “Sorry.”</p><p>“It’s not your fault!” BamBam exclaimed, “It’s ours! We should’ve realised by ourselves sooner that this unintentional responsibility was causing you more harm than you let on, if only because you have a habit of hiding stuff from us.”</p><p>Mark could hear the agreeing murmurs from the rest of the members. He tried to feel offended that they would think that he kept stuff from them, but he knew all too well what he was like.</p><p>“C’mere Mark.” Jinyoung said, opening his arms, “You look shattered.”</p><p>He nodded, feeling all the tiredness from the whole day crash over him and making him feel ten times heavier. He should absolutely go to sleep. He stepped forward to hie double bed and crawled up towards Jinyoung and Jaebum, BamBam moving out of the way.</p><p>With a big sigh, he fell into Jinyoung’s welcoming arms, feeling Jaebum’s hand begin to card soothingly through his hair. It felt wonderful. Mark could feel his eyes shutting steadily, no matter how much he tried to keep them open to watch as everyone else vacated his room, but not before promising that they would help with the translation process (Jackson and BamBam) or get the company-provided translator to do their job (Yugyeom and Youngjae).</p><p>His last thought before he went to sleep was that tomorrow would be easier.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Yay! It’s finished!</p><p>Leave a kudos or even a comment if you’ve enjoyed it!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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